Turning a Weed into Handicraft Products, Water Hyacinth Fiber

Water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) is a member of the pickerelweed family (Pontederiaceae). The plants vary in size from a few centimeters to over three feet in height. The glossy green, leathery leaf blades are up to 8" long and 2-6 inches wide and are attached to petioles that are often spongy-inflated. Numerous dark, branched, fibrous roots dangle in the water from the underside of the plant. The inflorescence is a loose terminal spike with beautiful showy light-blue to violet flowers (flowers occasionally white). Each flower has 6 bluish-purple petals joined at the base to form a short tube. One petal bears a yellow spot. The fruit is a three-celled capsule containing many minute, ribbed seeds.

Water hyacinth is listed as one of the most productive plants on earth and is considered the world's worst aquatic plant. It forms dense mats that interfere with navigation, recreation, irrigation, and power generation. These mats competitively exclude native submersed and floating-leaved plants. More typically, water-hyacinth damages water quality by blocking sunlight and oxygen and slowing the water's flow. Capable of doubling within a couple of weeks, it can grow faster than any other plant. By choking out other vegetation, it makes an area unusable by plants and animals that live in or depend on the water. Fish spawning areas may vanish. The dense floating mats impede water flow and create good breeding conditions for mosquitoes.

In USA the best way to manage water hyacinth is to prevent it from becoming established. If you purchase water hyacinth at a local nursery, do not dispose of excess plants by throwing them into a lake, river, stream, or drainage ditch! Dispose of all excess plants on a compost heap and away from water. Also do not purchase water hyacinth and deliberately plant it into your lake. This is asking for trouble.

Water hyacinth is controlled through a number of methods including harvesting, aquatic herbicides, and biological control agents. We are developing ways to minimized the impact of these plants on our environments, we studying way to introduce natural enemies of water-hyacinth like the Taosa plant hoppers, Megamelus plant hopper, and the Thrypticus fly, we also inventing many machine chopping down the plant and trying to put them away. We say why not use them and harvest them to help them low income farmer in the tropical and sub tropical region to make products like the mat, furniture and many other products, these natural water hyacinth fiber are strong and can be woven into many pattern and use to make many in door household furnishing products.

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Beautiful Handpainted Thai Benjarong Jewery Box

This new thai benjarong jewelry box is made of high quality ceramic with hand painted in thai pattern sparkling 5 colors ; pink violet green yellow and white.It has a shiney gold 24k finish decorating in lotus and butterfly, purple background.

Benjarong, the royal porcelain of Thailand, wears the grace of Thai culture through each carefully placed brushstroke. In the early Rattanakosin period, Benjarong porcelain items were it to be displayed as a single piece or a set, to compliment interior design. Benjarong is a product of Thailand that is cherished by recipients and admired by all.

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Benjarong - high quality Thai handpainted pottery

Benjarong, the royal porcelain of Thailand, wears the grace of Thai culture through each carefully placed brushstroke. In the early Rattanakosin period, Benjarong porcelain items were highly prized and used only in the Royal household and upper class Thai families.

Benjarong, meaning'five colours', was originally made in China, hand crafted from clay, fired in charcoal ovens and finished in fine gold plating. Each piece consists of hand-applied, real gold masks laid over the white ceramic, enabling the artist to produce a tactile, detailed Thai pattern around the gold, using at least five colours.

The rare beauty of Benjarong allows it to be displayed as a single piece or a set, to compliment interior design. Benjarong is a product of Thailand that is cherished by recipients and admired by all.

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Amethyst: a Royal Purple

Purple has long been considered a royal color so it is not surprising that amethyst has been so much in demand during history. Fine amethysts are featured in the British Crown Jewels and were also a favorite of Catherine the Great and Egyptian royalty. Amethyst, transparent purple quartz, is the most important quartz variety used in jewelry.

Leonardo Da Vinci wrote that amethyst was able to dissipate evil thoughts and quicken the intelligence.

Because amethyst was thought to encourage celibacy and symbolize piety, amethyst was very important in the ornamentation of Catholic and other churches in the Middle Ages. It was, in particular, considered to be the stone of bishops and they still often wear amethyst rings.

In Tibet, amethyst is considered to be sacred to Buddha and rosaries are often fashioned from it.

The Greek work "amethystos" basically can be translated as "not drunken." Amethyst was considered to be a strong antidote against drunkenness, which is why wine goblets were often carved from it! The gemstone still symbolizes sobriety.

The legend of the origin of amethyst comes from Greek myths. Dionysius, the god of intoxication, was angered one day by an insult from a mere mortal and swore revenge on the next mortal that crossed his path, creating fierce tigers to carry out his wish. Along came unsuspecting Amethyst, a beautiful young maiden on her way to pay tribute to the goddess Diana. Diana turned Amethyst into a stature of pure crystalline quartz to protect her from the brutal claws. Dionysus wept tears of wine in remorse for his action at the sight of the beautiful statue. The god's tears stained the quartz purple, creating the gem we know today.

Amethyst ranges in color from pale lilac to deep purple. The pale colors are sometimes called "Rose de France" and can be seen set in Victorian jewelry. The deep colors are the most valuable, particularly a rich purple with rose flashes.

Amethyst is mined in Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia and Argentina, as well as in Zambia, Namibia and other African countries.

Generally, amethyst from South America tends to be available in larger sizes than African amethyst but amethyst from Africa has the reputation for having better, more saturated, color in small sizes. Very dark amethyst, mostly in small sizes, is also mined in Australia.

Amethyst is available in a wide range of calibrated sizes and shapes, including many fancy shapes. Large fine stones may be sold in free sizes but generally amethyst is cut in standardized dimensions.
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